‘Relentless’ growth could see the US topple Russia, Saudi Arabia as world’s largest oil producer, IEA says

Writen by Sam Meredith at CNBC

“This year promises to be a record-setting one for the U.S.,” the IEA said in its closely-watched report published Friday

The latest monthly report from the IEA comes at a time when crude futures have climbed to highs not seen since the early days of a slump in December 2014

One of the main beneficiaries of OPEC-led production cuts is the producers’ major competitor, U.S. shale oil. U.S. oil producers are staging a dramatic comeback amid a recovering oil price that has allowed many of them to restart operations.

The U.S. is well-placed to overtake the likes of Saudi Arabia and Russias the world’s leading energy producer over the next 12 months, according to the latest monthly report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

“This year promises to be a record-setting one for the U.S.,” the IEA said in its closely-watched report published Friday.

“Relentless growth should see the U.S. hit historic highs above 10 million barrels a day (in production), overtaking Saudi Arabia and rivaling Russia during the course of 2018 — provided OPEC and non-OPEC restraints remain in place,” the Paris-based organization added.